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User blog:Warriorlover12345/The Apprentice's Quest: A Review
Greetings and salutations my beautiful people! First of all: Hi, I'm not dead. Don't worry lmao. I've mostly been on tumblr/Instagram. Shameless self promotion time! Follow my tumblr at clementine-the-kitten, and my IG is Clementine.Kitten. Now onto the review! So.. hmm... The Apprentice's Quest. I really don't like this book. Maybe it's because I'm growing up and haven't read the series in a while, but it seems like the books have lost their magic. I was reading The Ultimate Guide on a long car ride yesterday and still got chills as I remembered all the convuluted lore and individual, unique stories laid out for each character. Who remembers when apprentices visited the Moonstone after they were apprenticed? This review will contain spoilers and it is not well-thought out at all. Proceed with caution. My first issue with The Apprentice's Quest is the main characters. Alderpaw and Sparkpaw are built to appear like polar opposites- Alderpaw is shy and self-depriciating, while Sparkpaw is high-energy and confident. While this can work and can help each character develop, it's not really interesting. The way it's written makes it seem like you're supposed to believe that Alderpaw can't do anything right and Sparkpaw is the shining star, the Dovewing to Alderpaw's Ivypool. Alderpaw is literally usless. Moving on... Don't you think that, even if he was destined to be a medicine cat, Alderpaw would learn something in his moons of warrior training? Well, he didn't. His fighting in incompetent, he can't catch prey, and he's clumsy. I find that hard to believe since both Alderpaw's parents and related family are/were established, talented warriors (Squirrelflight, Bramblestar, Tigerstar, Firestar, Sandstorm, etc.). It's kind of impossible for Alderpaw to not inherent any of those traits. I don't blame Molewhisker for being impatient. I won't fault the Erins for trying to create a relatable character with anxiety/social anxiety, it's just not done well. As someone with, how you say, crippling insecurities, I think I have the right to state that I don't think this character is super accurate. I can tolerate Sparkpaw. I like the enthusiastic, peppy characters with boundless energy. I just don't like how she's clearly made to be a direct constract with her brother. In my opinion, the saving grace in this book is Needlepaw. I love her. She's sassy, direct, and isn't going to take any of your crap. She's badass. And I ship her and Alderpaw. No reason. That was unrelated, but still. They're cute. I'm predicting a large plot-point involving the almost canon crush Alderpaw has on her. My second problem is the plot. The entire plot. Goddamn. If you haven't noticed, I really don't like SkyClan. I also really don't like the Tribe. I *also* really don't like when the Erins use these beaten-to-death ideas as a storyline when they can't think of something new, SkyClan and the Tribe really don't need to be connected to the Lake Clans at all. They have their own storyline and nothing to add to this one. I just.... I really don't like SkyClan. They're boring. The Erins try to cling to this plot point from several series ago, and it hasn't been interesting since Firestar's Quest. So, for what purpose did the Erins feel obligated to make SkyClan an integral plot point in Vision of Shadows? It's unnecessary. I'm sure, at this point, I've made it clear that I really don't like the very basic plot. One other plot point I don't like about the plot was Sandstorm's death. It was very... unsatisfying. For one thing, I predicted her death as soon as she decided to go on the journey with the others. The death itself left much to be desired. Sandstorm was such an important character and deserved as much closure as the death of Firestar or Bluestar had. Like, jeez. I find it upsetting that this is how a crucial character in this series has to go. She dies, they're sad, and they move on. It was unfufilling, to say the least. The SkyClan meetup was stupid, too. That was the entire plot, and they threw it out the window by making up some BS about htem being too late. It was so short-lived and idiotic. Yes, the rogues were dangerous and were shown to be quick to kill with no remorse, but Clans have faced enemies like this before. But I digress, I sound like I'm whining. The writing wasn't also the best. Didn't have the same feeling and child-like wonder and awe that the original books had. I felt this way about Bramblestar's Storm as well. The words were repetitve, the characters didn't have strong, lovable personalities like they used to. I didn't find this book enjoyable... Thoughts? 5/10. I still like it for the nostolgia factor. ~Clem *You're filled with DETERMINATION 18:22, October 10, 2016 (UTC) Category:Blog posts